Plastic Waste = Cash Cow?

A group of environmentalists and entrepreneurs is looking for ideas on how to “capture gold” — that is, how to collect and convert plastic waste into new plastic or fuel. O.K., describing plastic waste as potential “gold” may be overdoing it. But the campaigners say that publicizing the notion that plastic is worth something may help reduce the amount of waste that ends up in oceans and the bellies of sea creatures. Plasticity To that end, they have set up a competition inviting members of the public to submit ideas online . Organizers will take the best ones to the Rio+20 earth summit meeting in Rio de Janeiro next month, where they are planning a daylong side event called Plasticity focusing on issues related to plastic pollution. The plastic waste problem is gaining broader attention as environmentalists scientists, manufacturers and the public become more aware of the ...